Bringing its unique fusion of Latin rhythms to the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Cuban ensemble Tiempo Libre played to an audience of about 350 people Saturday.

The seven Latin American immigrants energized the audience with their blend of jazz, traditional Cuban, Afro-Cuban and other Latin styles.

Many audience members danced in the aisles to the upbeat music. At other times, the audience clapped along to the beat.

“It’s really nice that we get a big Latin group like this to come perform,” said Dan Berkowitz, a Music sophomore. “These guys have spirit and it’s exciting to watch.”

The Miami-based group has toured with several internationally known Latin performers, including Celia Cruz, Arturo Sandoval and Ruby Perez.

Josh and Pam Mark of Skokie came out to hear Tiempo Libre again. They saw the group play at the Ravinia Festival in 2002.

The couple said they enjoyed this concert more than the one at the Ravinia Festival because they were sitting closer to the band.

“It was nice that they were able to get people involved with the dancing,” said Pam Mark, who heard about the concert through a Northwestern alumnus.

“The performance was good but too short,” added her husband.

The hour-long show, sponsored by the School of Music, began with an NU student jazz group.

“The jazz combo did a good job opening for Tiempo Libre,” said Tate Jorgensen, a Music and Weinberg junior. “It was cool that NU kids got to open. They did an awesome job of setting (Tiempo Libre) up.”

Despite the fact that the lead singer spoke Spanish to the crowd and the songs were in Spanish, the language barrier did not prevent audience interaction.

“It was really awesome to see something different like this,” Jorgensen said. “I would definitely like to see more of it.”

Music sophomore Rajesh Prasad said a friend of his recommended the concert, so he didn’t have any expectations.

“It was awesome though,” Prasad said.

Reach Marcy Miranda at [email protected].

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Crowd dances to the Latin beat of Tiempo Libre at Pick-Staiger

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